


Subspace Emissary: The Novelisation

by WritingRookie



Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-07
Updated: 2014-05-22
Packaged: 2017-12-28 17:35:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/994676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingRookie/pseuds/WritingRookie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A powerful and terrible force seeks totake over the multiverse, using the Smashverse as its starting point. The only thing that can stop it... are the Super Smash Brothers. A novelisation of Brawl's Subspace Emissary mode, but with some tweaks here and there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_There is a world..._

_Connected to countless others..._

_A world ruled by two near-omnipotent beings resembling giant hands..._

_Where the greatest of fighters are brought together to pit their skills against each other in an massive tournament ..._

_Where defeat reduces fighters to trophies, mere shells of their true selves, a state only reversible through the mercy of other fighters..._

_A world with its own strange but strict set of rules which all who enter must abide by, or suffer the consequences._

_But..._

_An unspeakable power has emerged, with its eyes set on this strange world..._

_It will stop at nothing to conquer this world, and all worlds connected to it..._

_And to crush anyone or anything that stands in its way..._

_Now, the assembled fighters must band together to defeat this unspeakable menace, before this World of Trophies...and all worlds connected to it... falls under the control..._

_...of the Subspace Emissary._

* * *

"Give it up, already!" the portly penguin king yelled as he watched a small, masked warrior trying to fend off his army of Waddle Dees. "Even you can't keep this up forever!"

A short time before, the king and his Waddle Dee army had launched an attack on the knight's prized ship, hoping to claim it for some nefarious scheme. The knight had tried to defend it, but though the army wasn't very strong, their sheer numbers were slowly starting to wear him down. Now he was exhausted, and knew he could not continue fighting much longer. Unfortunately, there were still many more fresh Waddle Dees ready to fight.

Despite the odds, though, there was no way he would ever give up his ship, especially to this particular being.

"Never!" the knight exclaimed defiantly, "I will defend my ship with my last breath if need be!"

The king smirked, disappointed, but not at all surprised. "Well, that sounds a tad extreme, I gotta say. But if you insist..."

At this he gave a signal to his army, which started to advance on the exhausted knight, who prepared to fight for as long as possible...

before the army suddenly stopped and started staring at something in shock. The knight and king both turned to look as well, and were stunned by what they both saw.

Unless their eyes were deceiving them, it the ship was flying straight towards a huge shadowy ball of...something that seemed to appear suddenly in the sky. That in itself was strange even for all those on the ship - and they'd seen some strange things before - but there was seemed to be something more to it than that. Whatever it was, it seemed to radiate a sort of shadowy, dark, even unnatural aura, as if it housed some unspeakable power never meant to see the light of day.

"Before you get any ideas," the king began, "I don't know anything about this. Whatever it is. To be honest, I'm not really sure I want to know."

The knight didn't bother replying, too busy staring at the sphere that was slowly approaching. They were by now too close to try and avoid, close enough for him to see smaller spheres within - or maybe comprising - the larger one, and the aforementioned unnatural dark aura was becoming overwhelming.

No one on the ship knew what they were flying towards - or possibly into, but the thoughts of all of them were encompassed perfectly by the knight's last thought before the ship entered the sphere.

_This cannot be good..._

* * *

**Ummm...hi.**

**This is my first story here...yeah, not exactly the most original idea the site's ever seen, but I'm hoping this will turn out decent. Plus, it's a good starting point for a little project I've had in my mind for years that I hope I'll actually finish.**

**Anyway, please read and review, constructive criticism is welcome, flames are not.**


	2. The True Beginning

**Well, here's Part 2! This is where the story starts for real!**

**And just so everyone's clear, I don't own any characters used. All characters are property of Nintendo, except Snake and Sonic, who are owned by Konami and Sega respectively.**

* * *

It was a beautiful day in the mysterious World of Trophies. Innumerable beings had packed into a huge floating stadium to witness two awesome fighters do battle. Two of those beings were, themselves, fighters - namely **Peach** , princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, and **Zelda** , princess of the land of Hyrule.

"This is going to be great!" Peach exclaimed enthusiastically. "I can't wait for the tournament to start!"

The tournament being referred to was the Super Smash Brothers tournament, where the greatest fighters throughout the multiverse were brought together to compete against each other by the ruler of the Smash world, a powerful being known as the Master Hand. There had been two prior tournaments, and both the princesses had participated in the most recent, though they also both knew beings that had been in both.

Zelda giggled at her friend's enthusiasm. "I know, Peach, I'm excited too. However... I get the feeling that the tournament isn't the only thing you're excited for."

At this, Peach blushed and turned away slightly. "I...I don't know what you're talking about, Zelda." she replied bashfully as Zelda smirked at her friend.

"Oh come on, Peach." the Hyrulian retorted, "It's not exactly a secret. Practically everyone knows of it, and if they don't, they will soon enough."

It was certainly no secret amongst the 'Smashers', as they had become known, that after years of the whole 'damsel and hero' routine, including an odd instance where the roles were reversed, Mario and Peach had developed feelings for each other. Of course, they weren't the only Smashers to develop such feelings (Zelda herself had experienced some of this with a certain green-clad swordsman), but the fact that they were two of the most well-known meant that more than a few of the others were eager to use the fact for teasing material. Fortunately for Peach, Zelda was a bit more lenient about the subject than most of the others, though even she teased her for it on occasion.

"Well... maybe." Peach replied, before managing to compose herself. "By the way, where's you-know-who? I didn't think he'd want to miss this match."

"Oh, he wanted to get in some extra training before the tournament. He's really taking this thing seriously this time around."

Before Peach could comment on that, a loud booming voice echoed over the stadium's speaker system.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND WHATEVER OTHER KINDS OF CREATURE ARE PRESENT TODAY! IT IS TIME FOR A SPECIAL PREVIEW OF THE SUPER SMASH BROTHERS TOURNAMENT!"

At this, the entire crowd erupted into cheers, save for the two princesses, who simply looked on in anticipation.

"NOW, FOR A CUSTOMARY REMINDER OF THE RULES OF THIS FIGHT, AND, BY EXTENSION, OF EVERY FIGHT DURING THIS TOURNAMENT. BOTH COMPETITORS WILL FIGHT ON THE STAGE IN THE CENTRE OF THE ARENA. THE WINNER WILL BE WHOMEVER IS ABLE TO THROW OR SMASH THEIR OPPONENT BEYOND THE BOUNDARY LINES!"

To illustrate this, a huge cube of light was briefly showed, which encompassed a small area around and above the stage, representing said boundary lines.

The announcer continued. "THEY ARE ALLOWED TO USE ANY MEANS THEY ARE CAPABLE OF TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, BARRING OUTRIGHT KILLING THEIR OPPONENT, AS WELL AS ANY WEAPON OR ITEM THAT SPAWNS ON THE BATTLEFIELD."

"AND WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY... LET'S MEET THE FIGHTERS!"

At this, the already rabid crowd went wild, awaiting the Brawlers. Soon after, with a cry of "Lets-a go!" a familiar large green pipe emerged on the battlefield. Out of it jumped a **very** familiar moustachioed plumber, wearing blue overalls, brown shoes, and a red everything else, including a cap with a familiar 'M' logo on the front. It was the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, the incomparable gaming icon, the one and only **Mario**.

The heroic plumber gazed out at the crowd as the pipe disappeared behind him. He soon spotted the two princesses and tipped his hat down while smiling at Peach. At this, Peach smiled widely, while Zelda rolled her eyes.

The crowd's attention was soon drawn to something high above the stadium. Mario looked up and saw a large star careening haphazardly towards the other end of the battlefield. It soon crashed in a small explosion, a lone figure leaping out of the ensuing dust cloud. This figure was a small, round, pink creature, with short stubby arms, a simple but cute looking face, and what appeared to be red shoes for feet. It was the cute , cuddly and childish hero of Dreamland... **Kirby.**

Upon landing, the puffball looked happily to the crowd, standing on one foot and waving his arms in a simple sort of pose. His attention was soon drawn to his opponent, and he soon readied himself for battle, Mario striking his own fighter's pose in response. The crowd was electric, awaiting the start of the match as the two combatants stood off.

"READY... GO!"

And with that exclamation from the announcer, the Brawl began.

* * *

**Yeah, not much going on here. Don't worry, though, the action should pick up in the next chapter...hopefully.**


	3. Trophies and Trouble

**Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, readers of all ages...here's another update!**

* * *

The fight was just as fast-paced and brutal as the audience expected. The two Smash veterans held nothing back against each other, each fighting wildly to try and knock the other off the battlefield. At one point, Kirby seemed to have won by hitting Mario from above with Stone, but Mario managed to use Super Jump Punch to recover back to the battlefield. At another point, Mario had managed to smash Kirby almost to the boundary, and push him downwards using F.L.U.D.D, but Kirby used his floatiness and his Final Cutter move to get back to the ledge. At yet another point, Mario barely recovered from a Hammer shot so hard Peach swore she could feel the impact herself. Despite the best efforts of both competitors, though, neither of them was successfully knocked out, and the crowd only watched as the match continued.

* * *

Unbeknownst to those present at the stadium, they were far from the only ones watching the brawl. In a specially built temple, high in the clouds was another Smasher who was also watching it from something known in his world as a Reflecting Pool. He looked to be a relatively normal teenage boy, albeit one dressed in attire one would normally associate with ancient civilisations.

Except, of course, most teens didn't possess wings.

Yes, this being was, in fact, an angel. A relatively young angel, but an angel nonetheless. Despite his young age (by angel standards), he had already been in a few adventures himself, partly due to being the captain of the guards of a goddess known as Palutena. Once, he even fought his way out of the Underworld and battled a demonic army controlled by an evil goddess to find Three Sacred Treasures and save Palutena - and won! However, he had not seen much action since then, which was why Palutena had arranged for him to be there: to sharpen his skills against the multiverse's greatest warriors in case of another such threat. The young angel was known as **Pit**.

To Pit, this was more than just a way to get back in the fighting groove after years of relative inactivity. This was the opportunity of a million lifetimes. Ever since he'd learned of the Smash Bros tournament, he'd always wanted to participate. He'd always dreamed of testing his skills against legendary heroes from other worlds, even possibly fighting alongside them against a common foe. For now, though, he was content to stay in his personalised hideaway in the clouds and watch the brawl to study his future opponents, unaware that he'd get everything he wished for and more much sooner than he thought.

* * *

The end of the fight was so sudden, it took a while for it to actually sink in. After both the fighters had fought for quite a while and sustained quite a bit of damage, Mario had managed to nail Kirby with a powerful Smash attack, and Kirby barely managed to recover and grab the edge of the stage.

Unfortunately, when he climbed back onto the stage, he ended up walking into Mario...

...who had a Home Run Bat in hand. He didn't stand a chance.

"The winner is...MARIO!" the announcer proclaimed as the crowd cheered and Mario caught his breath, dropping the bat. Once he was feeling better, he looked out at the crowd before doing a short jump, landing in a strongman pose to more cheers.

Soon after, a large trophy was thrown down onto the stage. To the untrained eye, it looked to simply be a life-sized trophy of Mario's defeated opponent. Mario himself, however, knew better. That trophy was, in fact, Kirby himself, transformed into a trophy after his defeat. No one knew exactly why this was (though they had their suspicions) , only that the sole way to reverse it was to have another Smasher touch the base of the trophy. It was truly a sad state, a proud and noble warrior in a helpless, almost deathlike state. Even worse, there was no shortage of other, less honourable Smashers who would be all too eager to take advantage of such a state.

Fortunately, Mario was not one of those Smashers. He touched the base of the trophy, which was briefly engulfed in a bright light. When it subsided, the trophy had turned back into the living puffball known as Kirby.

After Kirby was revived, he looked around in confusion before realizing he had lost. He looked down in sadness before Mario walked up to him.

"Hey." the plumber said, "Good-a match. Almost had me a few times-a there. Good to see you've learned you lesson and been practising since last time."

Kirby frowned. At the last tournament he had come woefully underprepared and it had showed. **Hard**. So hard that he was one of the lowest ranked of the Smashers at the tournament's end. Even worse, he had been one of the highest ranked Smashers in the first tournament, making his embarrassing performance even more noticable. It was, needless to say, far from one of Kirby's finer moments.

Seeing the puffball's mood, Mario quickly added "Good-a luck in the tournament." and extended his hand. Kirby smiled at this, forgetting his loss, and accepting the hand with his own stumpy appendage in what could generously be called a handshake. The two then looked out at the cheering crowd and, after a brief nod, started posing, Kirby doing the same thing he had at the battle's start while Mario simply waved.

And that's when everyone heard the rumbling sound.

* * *

**Just so everyone knows, the pose Mario makes after the match is one of his victory poses in Brawl. Also, the 'poor last tournament' Mario refers to when talking with Kirby is meant as a reference to Melee, where Kirby was deemed by many to have been severely nerfed compared to the first game.**

**Also, I've been wondering if maybe I should make the chapters longer. The big downside, of course, being that they'd take months to upload. YOU MAKE THE CALL!**

**Okay...bye. Peace!**


	4. Enter the Emissary

The loud rumbling had been the first warning sign. Experience had taught Mario and Kirby, plus Peach and Zelda to a lesser extent, that such a noise tended to be the signal for something approaching. Something usually very powerful, often very huge, and almost always very hostile.

The second warning sign was the dark red clouds that covered the sky above the stadium. This tended to come with an sense of dark, ominous power, and this instance was no exception.

The third and biggest warning, though, was the huge airship that the clouds seemed to be surrounding. While Zelda was not exactly familiar with such machines, in Mario and Peach's past experiences, large airships tended to signal the arrival of big trouble. Kirby had somewhat similar experiences, but his reaction to the approaching ship was a little different to those of the others.

"Ha...Halberd?" Kirby said, drawing Mario's attention quickly.

"Wait," the plumber said, "you know that ship?"

"Ya!" Kirby replied. "That Meta Knight's ship! You know! New guy, look like Kirby but with mask and cape?"

Mario remembered a character like that. He had seemed okay, albeit a little secretive and solitary. For some reason, he had the feeling that this character was not currently in control of his ship.

Before Mario could think further into it, a door on the bottom of the ship opened, releasing a sea of small, dark puple-ish spheres onto the stage. More strangely, the spheres coalesced into several strange beings that soon surrounded Mario and Kirby.

Despite the experience between the two, both couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Not only were they facing unknown creatures, but something about them seemed...unnerving. Unnatural even. Kirby was the first to act.

"Uh...who you be?" he asked.

Despite having no visible mouth, one of the creatures replied...or tried to.

" _We...Primids...of the Subspace Emissary...we come...for this world..._ " it said.

"Huh?" Mario said. "This-a world? Well, sorry to burst your-a bubble, but there are a bunch of guys around here who I'm pretty sure are more than capable of-a foiling any invasion plan."

"Yeah!" Kirby added. "You no stand chance! Just go away!"

" _Fighters...Smashers..._ " the creature continued, unabated. " _They will all be dealt with... **you** will be dealt with...and this world...WILL FALL!_ "

With that, the creature leaped at Mario with its arm prepped for a punch. Though Mario was startled, he was able to dodge this attack and land some hard blows to it. Apparently, the beings weren't exactly tough, because those few blows were enough to defeat it, sending it careening into its comrades before dissolving into the spheres from which it seemed to have spawned. Mario looked behind him and saw Kirby Vulcan Jabbing away a number of similar beings, some wielding Beam Swords, others with what resembled strange Ray Guns.

"Hey!" Peach exclaimed, still watching in the now-panicking crowd with Zelda. "What's going on here?!"

"No idea," Zelda replied, "but it looks like Mario and Kirby could use some help!"

Peach nodded in agreement, and the two princesses rushed into the fray, Zelda teleporting onto the stage using Faeroe's Wind while Peach simply floated down to join the heroes.

"Huh? Peach? Zelda?" Kirby said in surprise.

"What are-a you two doing?" Mario asked, also somewhat surprised by the two princesses suddenly arriving on the battlefield.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Zelda fired back. "We're here to help you with...whatever these things are!"

"Yes," Peach agreed, "we weren't about to let you take on all these...things, whatever they are, alone! And besides..."

As she said this, one of the beings attempted to sneak up behind her for an attack. However, Peach noticed it and smacked it with her parasol, knocking the creature out in one hit. Another tried as well, but Peach slammed into it with Peach Bomber, the force of the impact blowing the creature into another, taking both of them out in one hit. While that was happening, Zelda had blasted another group of creatures with Din's Fire, leaving only a pillar of flame, and then a smoking scorch mark where hey once stood.

"...we weren't going to let you two have all the fun of beating the snot out of them!" Peach finished with a wink, as the remaining creatures backed off slightly.

Despite this, Mario still looked a bit apprehensive. While he knew both princesses were more than capable of holding their own in a fight, he was still a little apprehensive about letting the princesses get into one. Partly because of the fact that one of them was the princess of his own homeworld, but also because the other was also a princess, and the...close friend of another seasoned warrior. He knew full well that if Zelda got hurt, that warrior would likely hold him and Kirby responsible for it. The fact that both of them had also become very good friends of his (one more so than the other) was also a rather large point of concern.

Still, both princesses did seem to be more than capable of handling the creature, and in any case, the creatures didn't seem to be that big of a threat, mostly relying on numbers to try and gain an advantage. And numbers was something they seemed to have lots of - even now more of the strange creatures were spawning around them, some of them armed, and they were being joined by what appeared to be machines made to resemble malevolent thunderclouds. While they seemed like the kind of mooks that were relatively easy to beat, in those kinds of numbers, getting rid of all of them would take a while for just him and Kirby. Having the help of more Smashers might help them take out the remaining creatures quicker.

Besides, the princesses did need practise for the tournament too. And fighting hostile creatures was always more fun with more people involved.

"Alright-a." Mario said with a sigh. "Go nuts. Just-a be careful."

"Oh don't worry about us, Mario!" said Peach. "You and Kirby just try and keep up!"

At this, Mario couldn't help but smirk. "I don't-a think we're gonna have a problem doing that." he said as the four Smashers, almost on instinct, started to draw closer together as the creatures slowly, almost tentatively, advanced on them. Despite the numbers being against them, all four were confident they would be able to handle this threat.

"Ready?" Mario asked the others. All nodded in reply, readying themselves.

"HERE WE GO!" Mario yelled his battle cry.

And with that, the four Smashers leapt out at the hordes of creatures and, unbeknownst to them, a fight they'd never forget.

* * *

**And here's another chapter. Yeah, now the Emissary has arrived with hostile intentions. Can the Smashers beat them back?!**

**...Okay, you probably know, but just pretend you don't!**

**Kirby: Know what?**

**Nothing! Get out of here!**

**Anyway, constructive reviews wanted, please! I don't own anyone in this story!**


	5. Chapter 5: Drop The Bombshell

There may have been a large number of the 'Primids' on the battlefield, and a good number of the cloudlike Spaaks above it, but none of them lasted very long. Not against the combined power and skill of the four Smashers. They ploughed through the shadowy forces with ease, the only real problem being when they were occasionally swarmed by the Primids. Even then, a little teamwork was able to deal with them, defeating the creatures and reducing them to the strange spheres from which they had spawned.

Somewhat oddly, though, that wasn't the only thing that was left behind after some of them were defeated. Some of the armed Primids also left their weapons and other items behind, mainly Ray Guns, Super Scopes or Beam Swords, all of which the Smashers were all too happy to pick up and use against the remaining forces. But they also dropped an item the Smashers were not familiar with - a Trophy Stand.

Kirby was the one who came across it. He picked it up, but didn't know what to do with it. After all, what could one really do with the base of a trophy in a battle? Before he could ponder this, though, he saw Zelda being swarmed by a group of angry Primids. She was doing well fighting them off...but didn't notice one sneaking up from behind. On instinct, Kirby threw the stand at the Primid...

...and the next thing he knew, the Primid had been reduced to a trophy, much like the ones the Smashers themselves would turn into upon defeat.

"Wha...?" said Zelda, turning behind her to see what Kirby had tossed the Stand at. When she saw the trophy, she turned back to Kirby with a look of confusion, only to find the puffball with a similar confused look.

"Kirby...what on earth did you just do?" Zelda asked. All Kirby could do was shrug.

"HEY!" Peach called, grabbing the attention of the two. Apparently, she and Mario had finished off the remainder of the Subspace forces, the two running over to join their comrades.

"What's-a that?" Mario asked, seeing the Primid trophy. "Looks-a little like one of those things that were just attacking. Did one of them drop it or something-a?"

Zelda answered. "Well...it _is_ a trophy of one of those things...but it wasn't dropped by anything. In fact..." Zelda quickly filled the _Mario_ characters in on where the trophy came from...after which they looked just as confused as she and Kirby had just been.

"So...he threw the Trophy Stand at the Primid and turned it into a trophy?" Mario asked. Kirby nodded in the affirmative.

"That's weird..." Peach stated. "Out of curiosity, can you bring it back? You know, the way we can be brought back?"

At this, Kirby, figuring nothing could go too wrong, moved to do just that...

...but the trophy suddenly dissolved into the Bugs from which the Primid had spawned, causing Kirby to jump back in surprise. The other three just stepped back in shock.

"...Okay..." Peach eventually said. "That was...weird..."

"So apparently those things can drop Trophy Stands that turn others of them into trophies?" Zelda added. "Weird is an understatement for that, even by our standards."

"Well, at-a least those Subspace guys seem to have-a been beaten." Mario said in mild relief. Kirby was about to nod in agreement, but then something caught his eye above Mario. The other Smashers noticed this and turned to look as well.

What they all saw was possibly a stranger sight even than what they had just gone through. It appeared to be some sort of creature dressed in mostly green, very ornate garb. It wore so much clothing, in fact, that it was impossible to see what the creature looked like underneath. All that could be seen was a pair of glowing, yellow eyes. It seemed to be floating in midair, though how it did that none of the Smashers could tell, and was carrying a large spherical object with a large red X on it.

"Hey-a!" Mario tried calling out to the creature. "Who are-a you and what are you-a doing with that thing-a?" At this, the creature gazed down at the Smashers, before answering in a tone that could generously be described as 'robotic'.

"I AM THE ANCIENT MINISTER." it said. "ON BEHALF OF THE SUBSPACE EMISSARY, I GIVE YOU THIS WARNING: LEAVE THE IMMEDIATE AREA OR RISK YOUR OWN DESTRUCTION."

The Smashers looked at each other in confusion at these words. "Uh, excuse me?" Peach asked the Ancient Minister. "What exactly do you mean by 'our destruction'?"

The Minister did not respond. Instead, he simply dropped the large sphere onto the ground, where two robots came out of nowhere, and seemingly attached themselves to it with their arms. Then the two robots pulled away, opening the sphere and revealing it to be a strange machine. What looked like an unstable pile of matter similar to the Primids seemed to be contained within, with a timer in the middle slowly counting down. It didn't take long for the Smashers to figure out what it was.

"Mama Mia!" Mario exclaimed in shock. "It's-a some kind of bomb-a!"

"INDEED," the Minister confirmed. "A SUBSPACE BOMB TO BE EXACT. WHEN THIS GOES OFF, IT WILL SUCK ALL THE SURROUNDING AREA INTO THE DIMENSION OF SUBSPACE, AS WELL AS DESTROY ANYTHING - OR ANYONE - TOO CLOSE. THUS, I SUGGEST YOU LEAVE THIS AREA IMMEDIATELY." With this, the Minister flew away, presumably to a safe distance, leaving the Smashers with the huge bomb.

"Kirby!" Mario said, turning to the puffball in question. "I'm-a gonna try and stop that-a thing! If I can't-a, I need you to have your Warp Star ready for a quick-a getaway!"

Kirby nodded at this, while Peach yelled at Mario to "BE CAREFUL!" as he ran towards the bomb. Before he could reach it, however, there was another loud sound, like something huge had just landed behind the Smashers. They looked behind them to see a large shadowed figure hidden within a cloud of smoke...

...a figure that blasted a huge shot of gunk past Kirby and the princesses, hitting Mario so hard that he was launched skyward clear out of the stadium and into the distance. The three remaining Smashers were stunned. Kirby ran out to the spot where Mario had just been, gazing into the sky as if trying to will him to come back...

...but then behind him, there was the sound of cage doors slamming shut, followed by a scream of terror. Kirby quickly turned back around...

...and froze in shock. Not just shock at Peach and Zelda being held captive in cages, but also at who - or what - was holding them.

It seemed to be a giant humanoid plant, towering over the tiny puffball. It stood on two stubby leg-like appendages and held the cages containing the princesses in it's leafy arms. It seemed to have something of a potbelly, and was wearing some red and white polka dotted Speedos. All in all, it would have looked pretty silly...until you got to its head. The head was surrounded by petals, like a huge flower. There were no eyes, or nose on it, just a mouth. A huge mouth, filled with shark-like teeth, each as big as Kirby himself.

A mouth Kirby could easily fit inside.

**Sorry about the long wait. Had some exams to get through which sapped a lot of my time. Anyway, here's another chapter.**

**Also, I had a review requesting longer chapters. Not sure if I'll be able to do that, given my time constraints, but I'll try. Anyway, next time, the boss battle with Petey Piranha, so maybe that'll be a bit longer!**

**So...yeah.**

 


	6. Chapter 6: Unpleasant Surprises

The plant-beast stared down at Kirby - or at least he seemed to be, considering he didn't actually have eyes to stare with. Saliva dripped from the hugs mouth of the plant as it licked its lips in anticipation. It clanged the cages together, startling the captive princesses, before roaring at Kirby, once more giving the puffball a good look at the full size of its massive maw. Kirby, to his credit, was not intimidated, or at least didn't show any signs of him being so.

"Kirby!" Peach called out to him from her cage. "Be careful against Petey! He doesn't look quite right!"

"Petey?" Zelda asked Peach. "You know this creature?"

"Yes! Well, to a degree." Peach answered. "He's Petey Piranha, a monstrous Piranha Plant from my world. Usually he's working with Bowser, but he sometimes takes time off to play sports and stuff with us."

Zelda briefly pondered why someone who worked for one's enemy would take time to play sports with you, but quickly remembered that Bowser also did the same, at least, according to Peach and the Marios. Regardless, there was a more pressing question that needed asking.

"What did you mean 'doesn't look quite right'?" she asked.

"I don't know!" Peach shouted in reply. "He just feels...different somehow! Like he's been aligned with a power much greater and darker than Bowser!"

Petey interrupted these thoughts with another roar. Clearly tired of listening to his captives talking, he went on the offensive by trying to throttle Kirby...with Peach's cage. Both puffball and princess screamed as Kirby barely jumped out of the way of the monster's attack. Peach was dazed from indirectly being used as a weapon. Kirby? He was just mad. He started attacking the much larger Petey, but it seemed to have limited effect. Especially when Petey jumped into the air and slammed onto the stage in a fairly Ground Pound like move that nearly pancaked Kirby.

"Kirby!" Peach suddenly shouted. "Hit his cages! If we can get out, we might be able to help!"

Kirby nodded before using his Hammer to throttle Peach's cage. For some reason, Petey reacted very strongly to this, roaring out in what sounded vaguely like a combination of fury and slight pain. He then smacked Kirby halfway across the stage with Zelda's cage, both puffball and princess screaming in panic and pain. Luckily, Kirby managed to stop his momentum and get back onto the stage, dimly remembering that no one seemed to have removed the barrier from the earlier fight. Petey tried his Ground Pound move again, but again Kirby jumped out of the way, landing a kick to Zelda's cage in midair, once more making Petey roar in pain.

Meanwhile, Zelda herself was noticing something. "Hmm..." she mused. "I think the cages may be the key to defeating this creature! I don't know why, but when the cages are damaged, this Petey thing seems to get hurt! The cages must be some kind of weak point for the creature!"

Kirby overheard and nodded, quickly going back on the attack. He focused his assault on Peach's cage, punching and kicking and Hammering it as much as possible while dodging Petey's use of the cages as weapons and Ground Pound attack, not made any easier when, in mid-fight, Petey seemed to catch fire for a bit, roaring intensely before attacking Kirby even more ferociously.

After what felt to Kirby like an hour and the princesses like a week, both combatants were showing signs of fatigue. Both readied themselves for one last attack, before jumping simultaneously at each other, Kirby swinging his hammer, Petey swinging Peach's cage. The two met high above the stage...

...and as Petey thrust the cage at Kirby, the puffball managed to strike it with his hammer...and break the cage!

Peach quickly jumped out of her cage to join her rescuer, jumping away from the massive Piranha Plant and landing next to Kirby. Petey landed - stomach-first - some distance behind them. "Thanks for the save, Kirby." Peach said. Kirby just smiled in reply. The two looked over at Petey, who was not moving. "Now we should go help Zelda." Peach noted, to which Kirby nodded in agreement.

And then, Petey, for some reason, seemed to explode. Or at least spontaneously catch fire. The massive plant-beast roared in pain as Peach and Kirby just looked on shocked, before collapsing to the ground, Zelda's cage shattering open upon impact. Petey lay on the ground, twitching slightly but otherwise motionless as Kirby and Peach just stared.

"Well..." Peach finally said. "He's...never done that before..." Kirby looked even more confused, but looked concerned when he saw Zelda, who was struggling to get up. She seemed to have taken a hard landing, something Kirby quickly pointed out to Peach.

"Good idea, Kirby." Peach quickly agreed. "We can figure things out later. Right now, we should try to help Zelda."

"I'mma thinking you should-a be trying to help yourselves-a!" someone yelled, causing Kirby and Peach to look around for the source of the declaration. They didn't have to look far, though, for said source chose that moment to land in front of the two and make his presence known. It was a somewhat short, very fat, slightly crazed looking man. He was wearing biker gear, had a rather unkempt mustache, and a toothy grin that would make the Joker proud. All in all, he looked a little like a darker version of Mario...fitting, considering that's what he was. He was... **Wario**.

"Wario?!" Peach said in shock. "What is the meaning of all this?!"

"The-a meaning of all-a this is that I-a got sent here to axe some-a Smashers in-a case ol' Petey couldn't-a cut the mustard-a!" Wario laughed evilly. "I actually feel like I should-a be thanking you two-a! Was actually-a hoping I'd get some-a action! And to test out my-a new toy!"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Peach asked. "What new toy?"

"This-a new toy-a!" Wario exclaimed. With that, Wario pulled out what appeared to be a huge gun, almost bigger than himself. Neither Kirby nor Peach had seen anything like it before, but given that it was a gun in Wario's hands, it couldn't have been good.

"This-a" Wario continued with an evil laugh, "is a Dark Cannon-a! Specially designed to take-a out annoying Smashers-a!"

While he was gloating, Wario suddenly noticed Zelda, still trying to get up and collect her bearings. An evil glint entered his mind as an idea began to form.

"And what, might I ask, do you mean by that?" Peach asked, spotting the aforementioned glint.

"Well-a..." Wario started. "I-a figure why just tell ya...WHEN I CAN-A SHOW YA!"

With that, Wario started to charge up his huge gun...then swung it around to point it at Zelda.

"Oh my...ZELDA! LOOK OUT!" Peach yelled as Kirby gasped in horror. Zelda managed to look up at Wario...

...but by then, it was too late. The weapon was fully charged, and Wario fired. A huge black arrow (like a giant cursor) shot out of the Dark Cannon and struck Zelda in the chest, going right through the Hyrulian and sending her into the air. When she ell back down...she was a trophy.

Peach and Kirby stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Never had they seen anything quite like that. Wario meanwhile, just laughed at his triumph, jumping over and grabbing the trophy that moments ago was Zelda.

"Well," he said. "I'd-a love to rub ma victory in-a your faces a bit more-a, but I-ve got other fish to-a fry! Ciao!" Still holding the trophified Zelda, Wario leaped away, heading out of the arena.

"Stop! Get back here!" Peach shouted at Wario, trying futilely to chase after him. Kirby tried to follow her, but soon noticed the bomb as they passed it. In particular, he noticed that there were less than 10 seconds left on the clock.

Moments later, the bomb exploded, covering the entire stadium - and most of the area surrounding it - in a huge black sphere of dark matter. Luckily, both Kirby and Peach managed to escape, riding off to safety on Kirby's signature Warp Star. Despite this, neither of them could resist taking a look back at the huge sphere that was once the floating stadium.

"Peach?" Kirby asked after a while. "W-What just happen? Who those guys? Why Wario do what he did? WHAT JUST HAPPEN?!"

"I have no idea, Kirby..." Peach said quietly. "But whatever it is...I don't know why, but...I fear for the other Smashers...I fear for all of us..."

**And there's another chapter done! That finally concludes the first stage...this story might end up being longer than I thought. O_O**

**Well...reviews are appreciated! Flames will be sent back! Ciao, everybody!**


	7. Extra 1: Hero of Winds

_Meanwhile, many miles away..._

Out on the open sea, far away from the stadium, a lone ship, manned by a crew of one, sailed the calm waters. The sole sailor was another Smasher, and a rather young one at that. Most children his age wouldn't dream of sailing a ship solo...but by virtue of being there, in the Smash world, he was clearly no ordinary child.

This child was the reincarnation of a legendary hero, dubbed the 'Hero of Wind' after he had mastered the use of the legendary Wind Waker baton. When his sister was kidnapped, he sailed across the seas to find her, in the process getting tangled in a dangerous adventure with the fate of his world at stake. He had defeated deadly monsters, recovered the Master Sword, discovered the fate of Hyrule in his world, and ended Ganondorf's evil in his world for good.

He was known as Link...but since there was already a 'Link' in the Smash world, here he was called **Toon Link**.

Despite his impressive track record though, sailing the ship on his own in unfamiliar waters was proving to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest challenge he'd ever faced. Granted, the ship was a bit smaller than the ship he'd become used to, but it was still a demanding , he hadn't found any unpleasant surprises and the water was fairly calm, so he could take a break and rest in the crow's nest.

He supposed he could have brought his friends along, if only for companionship and to help with the ship, but he wanted to do this on his own. Plus, he liked to think he learned a thing or two from them during their travels together and didn't want to put them through more unexpected dangers. After all, they had to keep looking for a new land to call Hyrule.

Still, he did miss the companionship of the pirates, and especially his good friend Tetra. Or should that be Princess Zelda? He never knew what name he should use with her any more, at least not since he found out the two were the same person. That other Zelda he heard of sounded pretty nice, but he hadn't actually gotten to see her in person yet. Or the other him. He hoped they were as nice as he and his Zelda were.

As he was pondering all this, he was suddenly startled by the distinct sound of a large explosion in the distance. Quickly pulling out a telescope, he looked out to land to see what had caused it...

...and saw the huge expanding sphere from the last chapter. Toon Link nearly dropped the telescope in surprise.

"What in Farore's name is _that_?!" he thought to himself. Even on his adventures he'd never seen anything quite like it. However, even from a distance, he could feel some sort of dark, unnatural aura coming from it. Whatever it was, it was trouble.

Luckily, Toon Link liked trouble.

He quickly got out of the crow's nest and leaped down onto the deck, quickly hoisting the sails and pulled out the Wind Waker, using it to direct the wind in his desired direction, already excited at the prospect of the upcoming adventure. No doubt, there would be plenty of evil to fight, danger to endure and possibly even new friends to meet. And Toon Link was ready for all of it and more.

After all, he _was_ a Hero. What could there possibly be in this world that he couldn't handle?

* * *

 

**Yeah, as you may have noticed, this bit isn't in the original story mode. Well, I wanted to allow ALL the playable characters to be able to make an appearance in the story, so scenes like this will be used to put them into the story. This of course means Wolf and Jigglypuff will be joining in too in future chapters, and Sonic will also have a bit of a bigger role. No Melee characters, though.**

**...Okay, see ya. Constructive criticism welcome.**


	8. Chapter 7: Wings of Icarus

_Meanwhile, in the temple in the skies_...

Pit could only stare in shock and disbelief at the events that the Reflecting Pool was showing him. Tons of questions were swirling through his mind.

_What happened? What were those things? What was that Wario guy doing? What was with that huge dark thing? And what happened to that Mario guy?_

As he was pondering these questions, he suddenly became aware of a bright light shining behind him. A light he knew quite well.

"Lady Palutena!" he exclaimed, moving towards the projection of his goddess and kneeling towards her image. Though Palutena herself could not be there, she could send a projection of herself across worlds to Pit's location in times of need...which for Pit, definitely meant something was up.

Palutena smiled at her faithful angel. " _Good to see you, Pit._ " she said, before suddenly growing more serious. " _I assume you saw what happened at the Floating Stadium?_ "

"Yes." Pit answered. "But how did you...?"

" _You weren't the only one watching that, Pit._ " she replied, sounding more serious than Pit could remember her being in many years. " _What occurred at that stadium was the work of some kind of unspeakable, unnatural power. I don't know what exactly it or it's controller intends to accomplish, but if left unchecked, it could consume the entirety of this Smash universe you are currently in. And if it accomplishes that...it could begin to spread further._ "

"Spread further?" Now Pit was concerned. "You mean it could...?"

" _Honestly, I don't_ _know_." Palutena admitted. " _But something tells me that whatever that was, it was not of the Smash world, meaning it could likely travel from one world to another. Pit, I know you're a little out of practice, but I'm counting on you to help figure out what this strange power is seeking and to stop it. Think you're up to the task?_ "

"Definitely!" was Pit's reply.

" _In that case,_ " Palutena continued. " _you might need this._ " With that, Palutena held out her hand and a strange ball of light appeared. Stranger still, the ball soon changed shape into a bow, floating towards Pit's hand. When the angel grabbed it, two rings appeared on the arm holding it.

" _These are some special weapons I created specifically for you in case of a disaster. You will know how to use them._ " Palutena said.

"Neat." Pit replied, twirling the bow around. "I don't suppose there's anything else?"

" _Sadly, no. The...restrictions of this world prevent me from doing much more to know that I will be with you...in_ _spirit_." Palutena said.

"Wow, that's _really_ helpful." Pit deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

" _Hey, I may be a goddess, but even I have limits. Besides, don't you have a world to help save?_ " Palutena said, motioning to the door.

"Right!" With that, Pit started running towards the door. "I won't let you down, Lady Palutena!"

" _Be careful, Pit...and good luck."_ Palutena said, as her image faded out. Pit, meanwhile, reached the door, which had opened up to reveal the wide open skies outside. He stood at the open door, back to the outside, spread his wings and closed his eyes...

...fell down, letting gravity take him...

...before gliding down towards Skyworld, ready for action.

"Alright..." he said to himself. "Let's go save the day!"

After quite a bit of traveling by both wing and foot, Pit eventually stopped on a large piece of rock that poked out of the clouds to ponder his next move.

"Okay...where to start?" he wondered. "Maybe that Stadium or..."

Pit's thoughts were cut off when he caught sight of something approaching through the clouds. Pit's eyes narrowed when the object rose out of the cloud cover and revealed itself.

"It's that big ship from the stadium..." Pit realized. "The one Kirby called the 'Halberd'...what's it doing up here?"

His question was soon answered as the Halberd flew closer to his location, releasing masses of Shadow Bugs. Just like at the Stadium, the Shadow Bugs quickly coalesced into Primids, and soon hordes of the dark creatures had surrounded Pit on all sides.

"This looks like trouble..." Pit said to himself. "Well...I do need a bit of practice to get back in the game..."

With that, he grabbed and pulled out his new bow with both hands. To his surprise, the bow split in two, producing two halves which looked suspiciously like swords. Some of the Primids jumped at him for an attack, but he instinctively sliced them away, quickly mastering the use of his new twin weapons. Another was readying a Blaster shot, but Pit put the two swords together, fusing them back into a bow, and took it out with a few well-aimed arrow shots.

"Hmm...Palutena does good work!" Pit mused, once again separating the halves of the bow and twirling them around, before staring out at the remaining Primids.

"Alright...who's next?"

* * *

 

**And here we are, starting Stage 2 of the story! Pit has officially joined the fight against the Emissary, but what part will he play in the conflict?**

**Also, that thing Palutena mentioned that prevents her from doing much to help? It's not all that important, but it WILL be mentioned again down the line.**

**As an aside, why is it that my Fiction Wrestling story is getting more attention than this one?**

**Anyway, next time: Pit gets into the thick of the action and locates an ally! See ya then!**


	9. Chapter 8: An Alliance

As it turned out, Primids were far from the only enemies littering the paths of Skyworld. Aside from them and a few Spaaks, there were also couple of new foes that Pit hadn't seen when viewing the events at the Stadium. For example, he ran into a kind of enemy called a Cymul. This strange enemy hovered through the air and seemed to be capable of reflecting Pit's arrows, and tried to sliced at him when he got too close. A few slices with his swords were enough to dispatch this particular tricky armoured enemy.

That, however, was nothing compared to what dropped out at Pit further down the path. He later learned that it was called a Greap, and he felt that it had been very well named. The creature possesed HUGE scythes on two long arm-like appendages, which it swung down at Pit when they fought. Luckily, he managed to dodge out of the way, and the scythes became embedded in the ground. Pit tried to attack the creature as it was immobilized, but striking it's large black body seemed to have little effect. However, when he managed to get behind it and hit it in its small red head, it seemed to have a far greater effect. Once he figured that out, he was able to avoid the Greap's massive scythes, and take out the Subspace menace, though it still took a lot of dodging and hitting.

After finally defeating the Greap, Pit paused for a bit to take a breather.

"Whew...haven't had a fight with something like that in years!" he thought to himself. "Still, good way to shake off some of the rust." He then stared out at the vast expanse of cloud covered path that lay before him.

"Hmmm...that's a lot of ground to cover for one angel..." he remarked. "Sure would be nice if I had a partner or something...come to think of it, I haven't really been able to get to know any of the other Smashers since I got here..." Clearly staying up in the clouds where no one (as far as he knew) could join him wasn't the best way to meet new people.

"Hope I can find someone to join me soon...one of the Smash vets, preferably..." he mused, readying himself to continue onward. "Something tells me this is the kind of fight even a guy like me can't handle alone."

And with that, Pit continued onward, not knowing that further down the path was just the partner he was looking for.

For some reason, the next part of the path was relatively clear of enemies. In fact, it was relatively clear of anything. Pit didn't come across an enemy, an ally, or even an item though his walk...

...until he saw something poking out of the clouds on the 'ground'.

" _Weird..._ " Pit thought upon seeing the item. " _Kind of looks kind of like a trophy stand from here..._ " When he got closer, he discovered it _was_ a trophy stand - one attached to a familiar looking trophy. A trophy of a smallish moustachioed man, wearing a very familiar cap and overalls.

" _Wait...is that...MARIO?!"_

Indeed it was. The Mushroom Kingdom hero had been reduced to a trophy, almost surely thanks to the shot he had taken back at the stadium. Apparently, said shot had also blown him, or rather, his trophy, clear into Skyworld.

" _Well...I did hope for an ally._ " Pit mused as he went over to the trophy. " _Couldn't have picked a better one myself._ "

Without a second thought, he touched the Trophy Stand...

...and then shielded his eyes from the ensuing flash of light as Mario was brought back to life.

It was a bit disorienting being revived from what could basically be considered death. At least, that's what Mario thought. One minute, he had been forced into the form of a trophy, the next he was revived in a flash of light in an unfamiliar location. Plus, he was still aching a little somehow from the shot he'd taken at the stadium.

"Mama mia..." he groaned. "What-a happened...and for that-a matter, where am I-a?"

"You're in Skyworld." an unfamiliar voice replied. This prompted Mario to look around in confusion - confusion which only grew when he identified the source of the sound.

It was unmistakably an angel. Not the strangest thing Mario had ever seen, but still not something you'd see everyday.

"You okay?" the angel asked. "Are you hurt or something?" From his looks and voice, Mario guessed he was a pretty young one, around his teens at best. Then again, for all Mario knew, he could easily have been centuries old.

"Uh...no...I'm-a okay..." Mario replied just a tad uneasily. "You...you're an angel-a, huh?"

"Yup, that's me." he replied.

"Hmm...so...just to-a clarify...this isn't the-a Overthere, is it?" Mario couldn't help but ask. The angel just looked puzzled. "You know-a...the Great-a Beyond...that-a place that the good guys go to when their-a Game is Over?"

"...Oh, that! ...No, this isn't it." the angel replied, a bit surprised.

Mario couldn't help but sigh a bit in relief. "Whew...good-a...'cause after what I've-a done through the years, that would've-a been a lousy-a way to go." he quipped. After getting up, brushing himself off and making sure he was in one piece, he got a better look at the angel who he assumed had revived him, and something clicked in the plumber's mind.

"Say-a...you're one of the-a new guys, aren't you-a?" he asked, snapping his fingers as he tried to place the name. "That-a one guy who hadn't been in action for a while-a...Pit, right-a?"

"Yeah, that's me." Pit replied with a smile, extending a hand with a smile, which only grew when Mario took it and shook it. "I have to say, it's a real honor to meet you in person. I've heard lots about you and your adventures."

"Oh, so you've-a been eavesdropping on us from up in the sky, then-a?" Mario asked jokingly.

"Well...I wouldn't quite put it that way, but..." Pit said, a bit embarrassed.

Mario's expression then suddenly grew more serious. "Well, in-a that case, I'm-a guessing you saw what-a happened at the stadium?" he asked. "I didn't-a see anything after-a getting shot out of the stadium-a."

"Oh...well..." Pit began, knowing this would take quite a bit of explaining.

"...And that's when I found your trophy." Pit finished his explanation of the situation. Mario just regarded the explanation with a stoic, thinking look.

"That's-a...quite a bit to take-a in..." Mario finally said, taking off his hat and running his hand through his hair. "Guess I-a owe Kirby something-a..." he murmured.

"Yeah." Pit said in response. "So...like I said, Palutena sent me to figure out help stop whatever's threatening this world. It's probably connected to what attacked at the stadium. And I've kinda been out of the game awhile, so..."

"You want-a some help, huh?" Mario quickly surmised.

"Pretty much." Pit shrugged.

"Well-a..." Mario started, straightening his posture and adjusting his hat. "Looks-a like our next course of action is-a obvious."

"Sure looks like it." Pit agreed with a ready smile, before getting serious himself. "That ship from the stadium - I think that Kirby thing called it the 'Halberd' - was going somewhere in that direction." he continued, pointing the way with his bow. "There's also a path down there that can take us down to land, in case the ship changes its course."

"So, we just-a follow the ship until we find some answers-a?" Mario asked. "Sounds-a like a plan."

"Yeah, but considering what I had to go through to get this far, I'd say it's a plan that's easier said than done." Pit said. "Road's likely not going to be easier from here. Hope you're up to the task."

"Excuse-a me?" Mario said with a raised eyebrow. "What-a exactly do you mean-a 'hope'?"

"Oh, nothing..." Pit said, though smirking as he did so. "Just wondering if you'd be able to keep up, considering how you got KO'd at the stadium..."

"Excuse-a me?" Mario said, somewhat indignantly. "By getting shot from-a behind? What exactly is-a that supposed to mean-a?"

"Oh, nothing..." Pit said with mock innocence.

Mario just eyed Pit, by now also smirking. "Is that-a so? Well, I'll-a have you know that I've-a been doing this since before you came around-a. The question shouldn't be whether-a I can keep up with you...

...but whether you can-a keep up with me."

With that, Mario got a running start before making a fantastic leap from the edge of the platform to the next, not wasting momentum as he bounced off that platform to the next. Pit, not one to be left behind, quickly followed, gliding after his newfound ally, both of them ready for anything their enemies could throw at them.

* * *

**And here's another chapter. Gotta say, I feel pretty good that I managed to get this out before some big exams. Should just be one more chapter for this stage of the story. Yeah, it's a bit shorter than the first stage, but then, that one really had more going on, story-wise.**

**...Well, I don't really have much else to say, so...until next time!**


	10. Chapter 9: Two Teams

Pit and Mario journeyed through Skyworld, battling any enemy that crossed their path. The two turned out to be a pretty good team; while Pit knew the area better and had the advantage of being able to glide, Mario's jumping ability allowed him to keep up easily, and his overall experience didn't hurt either. Between them, their combined abilities were certainly more than enough to handle any enemy they came across - handy, considering there were quite a few enemies for them to handle. Even when a large group of enemies - including a large new one with two huge guns at it's disposal - ganged up on them, the dynamic duo was able to dispatch all of them handily.

Eventually, they sighted what they presumed to be the source of the enemies flying high in the sky above the clouds: the Halberd. Seeing as it was their only major lead, they decided to follow it, hoping they could catch up to it or at least have it lead them to the source of all this. Unfortunately, they hadn't gone very far when they encountered an obstacle even seasoned warriors such as themselves could not overcome...

...the end of the path.

"Eggplants!" Pit cursed. "We almost had it!"

"...Eggplants-a?" Mario couldn't help but ask.

"Long story, bad past experience." Pit simply groaned in reply, not wanting to relive that particular memory.

"Hmmm...anyway-a," Mario quickly said, "isn't there another-a route we can take-a to follow it?"

"Well, there is a path down from Skyworld to the land." Pit said. "But it's a bit far from here and not exactly short. The ship will probably be long gone before we all the way down."

As they wondered what to do, the two spotted something in the sky, pursuing the Halberd. It was much smaller than the massive Halberd, but was faster and seemed much more sophisticated, more like a spaceship than anything else. Mostly because it _was_ a spaceship. A spaceship that Mario had seen before.

"Uh...what was that, exactly?" Pit asked.

"That-a was an Arwing-a!" Mario said in surprise.

"An...Arwing?" Pit echoed.

"Yeah, and-a a familiar looking one at-a that!" Mario added. As the two watched the smaller ship pursuing the Halberd, Mario turned to his new ally with a sense of urgency. "Pit-a, where is this-a path down to the ground-a?"

"Right around that way." Pit replied, pointing the way with his bow. "But like I said, by the time we get to the ground, that ship will be miles away! Along with that Arwing thing!"

"I'm-a not too worried about catching the Halberd right-a now!" Mario said. "Someone else has-a got that covered! Right-a now, we need to get to-a the ground to see if we can find-a the other Smashers-a! Who knows what might've-a happened to all of them-a!"

"Really?" Pit asked. "You sure whoever was flying that Arwing can handle the Halberd and whatever's on board? And anyway, what could possibly have happened to the other Smashers that they would need help? Can't they handle themselves in a fight?"

Pit wasn't so sure of this, but decided to trust Mario's veteran instincts.

"Well, okay then! Let's go!" he said as he led the veteran hero down the path back down to Earth. On the way, though, a thought crossed said veteran hero's mind...

"Hey, outta curiosity, what-a happened to Kirby and-a Peach after they fled the Floating Stadium-a?" he asked.

"...I don't really know." Pit admitted. "I was kind of busy getting my assignment from Palutena to check. They're probably far away right now."

"Hmmm..." Mario sighed. "Well, I-a suppose they should-a be ok. Kirby can more than take care of himself-a, and Peach is no slouch-a either. They should-a be able to handle anything those things can-a throw at them-a!"

However, unbeknownst to Mario, Peach and Kirby were not quite as far away as they thought...

* * *

 

"Kirby, do you think we could try looking for a place to land about now?" Peach asked her impromptu pilot. "We've been flying non-stop since we fled the Floating Stadium! I'm sure we're safe by now!"

"NO!" Kirby said worriedly. "Need to make sure we in place where shadow guys no attack! If Peach get hurt, Mario never going to forgive me!"

"I appreciate the concern, but you should know by now that I'm not _that_ helpless." Peach said. "I _am_ just as much of a Smasher as you and Mario, after all."

"I know...but..." Kirby sighed, turning around to answer Peach (a bit tough, considering the Warp Star was barely big enough for both of them). As he did so, however, he saw something that made his eyes go wide.

"Kirby? What is it? Is something wrong?" Peach asked, before turning around and reacting just as Kirby had...

...to the presence of the Halberd right behind the Warp Star. Kirby frantically tried to speed up the Warp Star to get away, but they were already going too slow, too close to the larger vessel. The Halberd soon bumped the Warp Star from behind, sending the two Smashers tumbling onto the main outer deck of the ship, ending up right in front of the Combo Cannon that was the Halberd's main weapon. The Warp Star seemed to have disappeared in the crash, as it usually did.

"Ugh..." Peach groaned, trying to shake off the cobwebs. "How did we not notice THAT...you okay, Kirby?"

The puffball in question was lying face-down, half-conscious, not far from Peach. He made a soft mumbling noise that Peach interpreted as a "Yes", and Peach went over to help him to his feet. Kirby was just shaking himself back to reality when there was a noise in the distance.

"Say, Kirby..." Peach started. "Did you hear something?"

"Prob'ly just Halberd engines." Kirby answered. "They very loud."

"I don't think so, Kirby..." Peach said. "It does sound like an engine, but not the one from this ship..."

Both Peach and Kirby then looked out behind the ship and spotted the source of the aforementioned noise. The Arwing Mario and Pit had seen before had caught up to the Halberd, and was now shooting away at the much larger ship. Peach and Kirby had to shield themselves and duck away from some stray shots that almost fried them where they stood. The Halberd tried to return fire with every weapon at its disposal, but the Arwing skillfully ducked and weaved out of the way of every shot.

"Oh my!" Peach exclaimed in shock. "We've ended up in the middle of a dogfight!"

"Peach, you think maybe you-know-who flying that Arwing?" Kirby asked, shouting a bit to be heard over the din of the dogfight.

"Maybe, Kirby!" Peach yelled in reply, ducking another shot. "There are only two people we know who can fly an Arwing like that!"

Just then, the Halberd decided to unleash it's secret weapon. As the Arwing flew close to it, the Claw on its Combo Cannon shot out and smashed clean through the craft, right where the engines were. Unable to stay in the air, the Arwing began to plummet out of the sky. As it did so, it spiralled past Kirby and Peach on the deck...

...and the wind generated was so strong that it blew the two Smashers clear off the ship! Fortunately, since they were both able to float, Peach with her parasol and Kirby with his natural ballooning floatiness, they were able to descend slowly and safely down to the ground.

 **Un** fortunately, when they reached the ground, they quickly ran into a rather hostile set of creatures...

* * *

 

**And there's the next chapter! I kinda combined two cutscenes from different stages for this, since...well, the more one thinks about it, the Subspace Emissary mode doesn't have much of a story. It's mostly just characters going from one place to another to stop the Emissary. XP**

**Seriously, looking back at the cutscenes, I'm a bit surprised I managed to squeeze this much story out of it. Then again, does anyone really buy a Nintendo game for the story? Except maybe Pokémon Mystery Dungeon? Well, hopefully, the next game will have a better story. If it has one, anyway. :P**

**Anyway, rant over. Please Read & Review, sorry this isn't my best work!**


End file.
